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Popular Culture, Moral Narratives and Organizational Portrayals: A Multimodal Reflexive Analysis of a Reality Television Show

Author

Listed:
  • Carine Farias

    (ISTEC Paris)

  • Tapiwa Seremani

    (IÉSEG School of Management)

  • Pablo D. Fernández

    (IAE Business School)

Abstract

This paper contributes to the Business Ethics literature by unpacking the multimodal construction of moral narratives in popular culture and its portrayals of organizations and organizational roles. Understanding such portrayals and their construction is crucial to Business Ethics scholarship because they shape organizational imaginaries, influencing understandings and expectations of the ethical/moral responsibilities of organizations and the actors within them. In particular, we study the construction of moral narratives within a reality TV show that focuses on immigration and border control at an airport. We find that the immigration officers are depicted as rational and heroic figures whilst the travellers are presented as emotional and potentially dangerous characters. Our analysis highlights how this is achieved via five multimodal editing dimensions—the structure of interactional scenes, the ability to address the camera, the narrator’s comments, the visual and music effects—that are key in constructing clearly defined personae. We show how, through the intersubjective construction of clear-cut characters, the show downplays the moral complexity of its content. Portraying immigration officers as heroic, while presenting travellers as potentially dangerous, allows for a silencing of any ethical questioning of immigration officers’ organizational practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Carine Farias & Tapiwa Seremani & Pablo D. Fernández, 2021. "Popular Culture, Moral Narratives and Organizational Portrayals: A Multimodal Reflexive Analysis of a Reality Television Show," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 211-226, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:171:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04460-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04460-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tuure Väyrynen & Sari Laari-Salmela, 2018. "Men, Mammals, or Machines? Dehumanization Embedded in Organizational Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 95-113, January.
    2. Stelios Zyglidopoulos & Peter Fleming, 2008. "Ethical Distance in Corrupt Firms: How Do Innocent Bystanders Become Guilty Perpetrators?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(1), pages 265-274, March.
    3. Christian Huber & Iain Munro, 2014. "“Moral Distance” in Organizations: An Inquiry into Ethical Violence in the Works of Kafka," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 259-269, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Dean Neu & Gregory D. Saxton, 2024. "Twitter-Based Social Accountability Callouts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(4), pages 797-815, February.

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